UPS profit beats on e-commerce surge, shares jump

[July 30, 2020]  (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc <UPS.N> on Thursday topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit and revenue as the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in home deliveries and healthcare shipments.

Shares of the package delivery firm rose about 10% in premarket trading.

The coronavirus outbreak has led to a boom in home deliveries of everything ranging from food to furniture and electronics and exercise equipment, as lockdown measures keep people at home.

Demand for domestic residential delivery surged in the quarter, driving consumer shipments up 65.2%, the company said.

"Our results were better than we expected, driven in part by the changes in demand that emerged from the pandemic," said UPS Chief Executive Carol Tomé.

Average daily volumes in the United States jumped 22.8% and reached 21.1 million packages per day, the company said, adding that it also saw strong outbound demand from Asia.

Atlanta-based UPS said net income rose 4.7% to $1.77 billion in the quarter ended June 30. Excluding items, the company earned $2.13 per share, beating estimates of $1.07 per share.

Revenue rose 13.4% to $20.46 billion, beating estimates of $17.48 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)

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